Black Bears Skate to 2-1 Win Over The Harvard Crimson

The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team fought to a 2-1 victory against the Harvard Crimson on Friday, Dec. 7.

Both teams skated onto the ice ready to clash, playing an evenly matched game through the first 20 minutes, leaving the score at 0-0 heading into the first intermission.

Maine came out strong in the second period, firing shots trying to get the puck past the Crimson’s first-year goaltender Lindsay Reed. Third-year forward Tereza Vanisova gave Maine the lead with 13 minutes left in the period, after handling a pass from fourth-year defended Alyson Matteau at the half boards. Vanisova cut into the slot and fired a wrist shot into the top right corner of the net.The Black Bears maintained their 1-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Black Bears struck again seven minutes into the third period, when on a delayed penalty, third-year forward Vendula Pribylova grabbed the puck from center ice and blew past defensive pressure for a breakaway. She made a move to force Reed to slide across the crease, then put the puck in the net through Reed’s open five-hole to double the Black Bears lead.

However, the Crimson would not go down without a fight. With six minutes left in the third, Harvard’s Keely Moy pushed in a third-chance rebound, getting between the pipe and the edge of Maine third-year goaltender Carly Jackson’s pad to put the Crimsons on the board. Maine went on to win 2-1 behind some stellar goaltending from Jackson, who managed to save 40 of 41 shots.

The Black Bears improve their record to (11-7-1) on the 2018-2019 season. They will play their next contest at home versus Hockey East rival Boston University on Saturday, Jan. 5 and Sunday, Jan. 6.

Black Bears fall to strong USA U-18 Developmental Team

The University of Maine men’s hockey team dropped an exhibition game to a strong U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP), 6-4.

The NTDP struck first when defenseman Case McCarthy of Clarence Center, New York,scored the first goal of the game six minutes into the first period. The NTDP created traffic in front of fourth-year goaltender Rob McGovern, which helped with the scoring opportunity. McCarthy found the back of the net from the while McGovern was screened by the players in front of the net. The last 14 minutes of the first period was a back and forth battle but neither team could find the back of the net, leaving the score at 1-0 going into the second intermission.

The NTDP came out strong in the second, scoring just 22 seconds into the period. The U-18’s second goal came on a leftover power play from the first period. Forward Cole Caufield of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, took advantage of an open net while unmarked in front of Maine’s net to tally the team’s second goal of the game.

The Black Bears answered two minutes later, scoring their first goal of the contest. Third-year forward Mitchell Fossier started a breakaway accompanied by fourth-year defender Sam Becker. Fossier held onto the puck as long as possible. The NTDP defense left Becker all alone as Fossier found him between the two face-off circles where Becker capitalized to pull the Black Bears within one. Two minutes after Maine’s goal, NTDP forward Jack Hughes of Orlando, Florida, found Caufield in a very similar spot as their earlier tally. Once again, the forward capitalized on the open net. The NTDP skated off with the lead going into the second intermission.

Forward Trevor Zegras of Bedford, New York capitalized on a power play for the NTDP just two minutes into the third period. Zegras beat McGovern stick side, high from the near face-off circle. Goals continued to come in bunches as second-year forward Eduards Tralmaks scored five seconds later for the Black Bears. First-year forward Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup lead the attack for Maine, dropping the puck off to linemate Tralmaks who wired the puck past the U-18’s goaltender.

The NTDP struck again when Hughes scored his first goal of the exhibition as he slapped the puck through the Black Bears’ crease. Defenseman Marshall Warren of Laurel Hollow, New York, set the stage, as Hughes simply shot the puck at an open weak side.

The Black Bears made a strong push late in the game as second-year defender Alexis Binner took advantage of a power play for Maine’s third goal of the game. Fossier passed the puck behind the net to third-year forward Chase Pearson who found Binner alone in front of the net. Binner wristed his shot over the U-18’s goaltenders blocker. The goal put Maine in a position to fight back in the game. Second-year forward Jack Quinlivan, with a high level of hand-eye coordination, re-directed a shot by fourth-year defenseman Keith Muehlbauer into the NTDP net. Quinlivan’s shot brought the deficit to one.

Forward Patrick Moynihan of Millis, Massachusetts, padded his squad’s lead with a tough angle goal. Moynihan played the puck behind the Black Bears’ net and let the defense clear. It seemed as though third-year goalie Stephen Mundinger had saved the shot, but the puck trickled over the red line.The NTDP held a two goal lead late in the third period, and Maine was unable to tie the game, dropping the exhibition 6-4.

The Black Bears will take 20 days off until they travel to New Jersey to take on the Princeton University Tigers on Friday, Dec. 28th.